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RealCostIQ

Flooring Cost Calculators

11 free calculators — carpet, hardwood, LVP, tile, artificial grass, and radiant heating. Instant estimates before you shop.

11 free calculators
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Installed cost per sq ft by floor type

LaminateBudget, DIY-friendly
$2–$8/sq ft
CarpetWarmest underfoot
$2–$17/sq ft
Sheet / tile vinylFully waterproof
$2.50–$9/sq ft
Luxury vinyl plank (LVP)Waterproof, wood look
$3–$9/sq ft
Hybrid rigid-coreSPC / WPC core
$3–$12/sq ft
Solid & engineered woodRefinishable, adds resale value
$6–$23/sq ft
Tile (ceramic / porcelain / stone)Longest service life
$5–$25/sq ft

Installed cost — material and labour together, not material-only shelf price. Excludes subfloor repair. Last verified July 2026.

Carpet Installation Cost Calculator

Carpet costs by grade, padding, and room type

$2–$17/sq ftDIY-friendlyBudget to premium

Hardwood Floor Installation Calculator

Hardwood by species, finish grade, and installation method

$6–$23/sq ftSpecies comparisonNail/float/glue

Laminate Flooring Cost Calculator

Laminate costs by AC rating and installation method

$2–$8/sq ftBudget optionDIY-friendly

LVP Flooring Cost Calculator

Luxury vinyl plank with carpet and laminate savings comparison

$3–$9/sq ftvs. carpet comparisonWaterproof

Vinyl Flooring Cost Calculator

Sheet vinyl, vinyl tile, and plank costs by wear layer

$2.50–$9/sq ftSheet/tile/plankWear layer guide

Tile Flooring Installation Calculator

Tile costs by material type, size, and layout pattern

$5–$25/sq ftPattern complexityPorcelain/ceramic/stone

Hybrid Resilient Flooring Calculator

Rigid core hybrid flooring by grade and wear layer

$3–$12/sq ftSPC/WPC coreW03-W10 rating

Garage Flooring Cost Calculator

Garage floor coating from DIY epoxy to professional polyurea

$400–$5,800/sq ftDIY vs proEpoxy/polyurea/PVC

Gym Flooring Cost Calculator

Home gym rubber flooring by type and room size

$0.50–$10/sq ftRubber tiles/rollsSubfloor options

Artificial Grass Installation Calculator

Artificial turf with 10-year maintenance savings comparison

$8–$22/sq ft10-year savingsGrade comparison

Underfloor Heating Cost Calculator

Electric or hydronic radiant floor with monthly running costs

$4–$12/sq ftElectric vs hydronicMonthly cost estimate

What flooring costs installed

Every figure on this page is an installed cost — material and labour together. That matters, because flooring is the category where shelf price misleads most: a $2/sq ft laminate and a $2/sq ft carpet carry very different labour, and stone tile can cost more to lay than to buy. Comparing material-only prices across types is how budgets get blown.

The costs people forget

  • Tear-out and disposal. Pulling old flooring, especially glued tile or multiple layers, is a separate line item.
  • Subfloor prep. Levelling, patching or replacing damaged subfloor. Rigid materials like tile are least forgiving of an uneven base.
  • Underlayment and moisture barrier. Required for most floating floors and over concrete slabs.
  • Transitions, trim and stair nosing. Priced per linear foot and easy to underestimate in a multi-room job.
  • Waste factor. Budget 5–10% extra on a simple rectangular room, more for diagonal or herringbone layouts.

Choosing by room, not by price

Moisture is the deciding factor more often than budget. Bathrooms, laundries and basements rule out solid hardwood and most laminate; tile, sheet vinyl and waterproof LVP are the realistic options. Below-grade concrete slabs need a moisture barrier regardless of what goes on top. High-traffic hallways favour wear-layer thickness over looks, and bedrooms are where carpet still wins on comfort per dollar.

Cost per year, not cost per square foot

The cheapest floor is rarely the cheapest floor over time. Laminate and budget carpet typically need replacing well before tile or hardwood, and hardwood can be refinished rather than replaced. Dividing installed cost by realistic service life reverses the ranking often enough that it is worth doing before you commit — our renovation cost guide covers where flooring sits in a whole-house budget.

Measuring the job before you price it

Every calculator here starts from square footage, and getting it wrong is the most common reason a quote and an estimate disagree. Measure each room as its own rectangle — length × width — and add them, rather than treating an L-shaped space as one figure. Include closets if they are being floored, and measure at the widest point of any alcove or bay.

  • Straight lay, square room: add about 5% for offcuts.
  • Irregular rooms, or planks with a pattern to match: 10%.
  • Diagonal, herringbone or chevron layouts: 15% or more — every cut at the perimeter is a mitre, and the offcut is rarely reusable.
  • Order the whole job in one batch. Dye lots and print runs vary, and a second order months later will not match. Keep a spare box for repairs.

Installation method drives the labour

Two floors at the same material price can differ sharply once fitted, because how the floor attaches to the subfloor decides how many hours it takes.

  • Floating (click-lock). Laminate, most LVP and rigid-core hybrids. Fastest to lay, no adhesive, and the floor can be lifted again. Needs a flat subfloor and an expansion gap at every wall.
  • Glue-down. Sheet vinyl, some LVP, engineered wood over concrete. More prep, more labour, and adhesive cure time before the room is usable — but the quietest and most stable underfoot.
  • Nail or staple. Solid hardwood over a wood subfloor. Skilled work, and not an option over a concrete slab without building a subfloor first — which is a cost of its own.
  • Mortar-set. Tile and stone. The slowest and the least forgiving: the substrate must be flat and rigid, and a suspended floor may need reinforcement or an uncoupling membrane before tile goes down.

Where DIY actually saves money

Labour is roughly half the installed cost on most floating floors, so a click-lock laminate or LVP in a simple room is the one job where doing it yourself changes the number materially. Tile, nail-down hardwood and sheet vinyl are not — the tools are specialised, the tolerance for error is small, and a failed tile floor is paid for twice.

Two jobs are worth paying for even inside a DIY project: subfloor levelling, because every floor above it depends on getting that right, and stairs, where each tread is a separate fitted piece and mistakes are visible from the whole room.

Sources

Ranges come from the same sourced data files the calculators use. Last verified July 2026.